For nearly a year, Mody Khan, a former Microsoft cloud solution architect, has been desperately searching for a new role. Nine months into his job hunt, Khan says he’s applied to hundreds of positions, interviewed with several companies, and still hasn’t received an offer. His savings are nearly gone, and his home is at risk of foreclosure.
Despite his experience at one of the world’s biggest tech companies, Khan says it feels like recruiters and employers are “looking for Superman” — expecting impossible résumés in a market that has left many seasoned workers struggling.
A Career Cut Short at Microsoft
Khan joined Microsoft in 2019 as a contract support engineer before converting to full-time in 2020. By December 2021, he was promoted to cloud solution architect, a remote position he held until December 2024.
But in his final years at Microsoft, Khan said he faced mounting pressure over his performance. Multiple managers raised concerns, and despite his efforts to improve, he felt unsupported.
“I hated going from the bedroom to my home office,” Khan told Local press. “I was under so much stress.”
Ultimately, Khan was fired for performance reasons — with no severance package. He applied to roughly 30 internal Microsoft positions but was never rehired.
From Six Figures to Survival Mode
Before being laid off, Khan was earning a six-figure salary. Now, nine months later, he has only about $10,000 left in savings — what he calls “survival money.”
-
If his funds run out by November, he and his wife could be forced to dip into retirement savings or face foreclosure on their home.
-
His credit score has already dropped from the high 600s into the 500s due to missed mortgage payments.
-
He’s sold off some of his Microsoft stock, but it hasn’t been enough to cover the prolonged job search.
“I had savings, and I’ve depleted almost all of it,” Khan said. “I’m in a very tight spot.”
The Harsh New Reality of Tech Hiring
Khan’s experience highlights a broader tech labor crisis:
-
Mass layoffs: Microsoft cut 6,000 jobs in May and another 9,000 in July as part of a strategy to reduce management layers and build “leaner” teams. Google, Meta, Intel, and Amazon have made similar cuts.
-
The “Great Flattening”: Many big firms are slashing middle-management roles and raising the bar for new hires.
-
Hiring slowdown: While layoffs across the U.S. economy remain historically low, white-collar tech workers have been disproportionately affected. More than 80,000 tech employees have been laid off globally this year, according to Layoffs.fyi.
The result: more applicants competing for fewer jobs, leaving even highly qualified candidates without offers.
Why Experience Doesn’t Always Translate
Khan suspects multiple factors have hurt his chances:
-
Age bias – At over 50, he worries that some employers assume he’s behind on the latest technologies. To counter this, he recently completed an AI certification at the University of Texas.
-
Lack of startup background – He’s noticed that many interviewers favor candidates from fast-paced startups, which makes his background at a tech giant like Microsoft seem less appealing.
-
Cultural bias – Khan, who immigrated from Pakistan in 2007, believes his nationality has sometimes worked against him, especially in interviews with recruiters from India, given regional and political tensions.
“Recruiters contact me, take my résumé, and then ghost me,” he said. “I’ve had so many good interviews where I’m ready for them to say, ‘Mody, let’s rock ’n’ roll’ — and then they don’t move forward.”
The Human Cost of “Superman” Expectations
Khan’s story is far from unique. Job seekers across industries report being ghosted after interviews, rejected for lacking “perfect” qualifications, or overwhelmed by application systems powered by AI résumé filters.
Career experts warn that companies’ push for “unicorn” hires — candidates with flawless résumés and multiple advanced skills — often sets impossible standards. It leaves experienced workers sidelined and contributes to longer unemployment spells.
“I’ve been constantly applying, and I’ve had interviews, but I’ve been turned down everywhere,” Khan said.
For now, Khan continues to apply for roles each week, hoping that one company will give him a chance. But with only two months of savings left, the pressure is mounting.
“It’s a very, very dangerous situation,” he admitted.
Khan says if he could give advice to employers, it would be to value experience over perfection. “No one is Superman,” he said, “but many of us can still deliver results if given the opportunity.”
